


Hot For Teacher

by i_like_my_eggs_benedict



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sexual Tension, Victor is a hot mess, Yurio is Victor's adopted son, Yurio is done with their shit, Yuuri is Yurio's former teacher, Yuuri is an angel, Yuuri is just hot, angst in future chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-14 16:07:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9191126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_like_my_eggs_benedict/pseuds/i_like_my_eggs_benedict
Summary: Victor is late for a parent-teacher conference with Yuri's super-strict teacher. Forced to wait outside the classroom for his inevitable fate, he meets Yuuri Katsuki: Yuri's former teacher. A really cute, smart, funny guy. Who's also really hot.This fic is based off an anonymous request on my Tumblr for a story with Yurio as Victor's son and a run-in with Yuuri which I am continuing! Yaaaay!Say hi at victuuri-oturi on Tumblr!





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another fic that is way longer and way sexier than originally planned.
> 
> Enjoy!

Victor ran through the parking lot as fast as he possibly could while juggling a coffee, papers, and his cellphone. He was constantly checking the time on it, even though he knew the minutes continued to tick by no matter how many times he did so. He shouldered his way through the front door of the school when the receptionist buzzed him in, desperately comparing the room numbers around him to the ones on the flimsy map he held in his hand.

 

When he finally made it to the right classroom after running up and down hallways and staircases, he was already twenty minutes late. He collapsed onto one of the three tiny chairs placed outside and composed himself as much as possible. He had talked to Yuri’s teacher only once over the phone, and they were the kind of person that made Victor feel like he was back in school himself, just waiting outside the principal’s office to be scolded.

 

Victor sighed in frustration. Not only was he almost a half an hour late to this parent-teacher conference, but this was the third time this week that he had been forced to keep Yuri at school after-hours until he could pick him up. He was embarrassed and ashamed, two very unfamiliar and irritating emotions for Victor.

 

As the minutes ticked by, Victor only relaxed a little. He thought the school would be more-or-less deserted by now, but a man who was clearly a teacher walked up to the classroom door. He had on glasses, a simple white pressed shirt, and one of the ugliest ties Victor had ever seen in his mortal life. He was still very nice to look at, though.

 

The man gave Victor a passing glance and polite smile when they accidentally met eyes, before shifting the pages of paper in his hands to have one free hand to knock on the door to the classroom. However, the guy froze before he was actually able to rap at the door.

 

Victor glanced sideways at him as the man fidgeted and huffed quietly next to him.

 

“Mr. Feltsman is in a meeting right now.” The sound of Victor’s voice apparently made the guy jump a bit in surprise. “If you were wondering.”

 

“Oh, um, yes thank you. I was.”

 

There was an awkward moment where neither of them said anything, but the guy was still standing in front of the door and they were just staring at one another. Victor noticed he had really long eye lashes.

 

“Do you…want me to give him something for you?” Victor offered. He even stood to extend a hand in a silent offer to take some of the loose papers threatening to fall from the man’s hands.

 

“No, no, it’s alright. I can wait. It’s something I need to talk to him about in person. And I couldn’t ask another teacher to do it.”

 

“Oh, no, I’m not a teacher. I’m here for parent-teacher conferences.”

 

The guy startled, his stack of papers rattling dangerously loose in his grasp. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I just – you look way too young to be a parent. I mean, y’know, to have a child.”

 

“Adopted. Adopted child,” Victor corrected. He thought he had said that pretty neutrally, but the teacher seemed to pick up on the bigger story behind those words and backed off.

 

“I’m sorry, I – I shouldn’t have assumed so much.” This teacher looked really pretty when he ran his hands through his hair in embarrassment. And as much as Victor loved how easily he seemed to blush, he also felt bad for making him feel so embarrassed.

 

“Don’t worry about it, really. It’s not a big deal.” He threw on his most charming and disarming smile, attempting to deviate the conversation. “ _You’re_ a teacher, though, right?”

 

The man seemed to still be a bit shaken, but his smile was returning. “Yes, I am. Well, more like a teacher-in-training, but still. I teach some basic classes and assist with other teachers’ lessons.”

 

“Well then maybe you know my little troublemaker, Yuri Plisetsky.”

 

The teacher’s eyes got wide and Victor thought it was adorable. “You’re – Yuri’s – oh, of course! I had him last year for literature. It was the first class I taught by myself.”

 

“Well, that must have been difficult with him there, so I’ve heard. Your opinion towards him seems to be by far the most positive I’ve seen from any of his teachers so far.”

 

“Oh no, I loved having him in class. Sure he was sometimes disruptive and absolutely refused to call me by my name, but – “

 

“Wait,” Victor stopped him. “Literature class. Last year. You’re Mr. Katsuki.”

 

Mr. Katsuki seemed to wince. “Call me Yuuri, please. I have the kids call me by my first name, so the parents shouldn’t have to speak to me so formally either. I think that’s why Yuri refused to call me by my first name. Even after I told him mine would actually be spelled with two “U”s, he still wasn’t happy.”

 

“Yuuri,” Victor repeated. Testing it on his tongue. It felt different than saying Yuri’s name for some reason, like all the vowels were longer and the consonants softer. “My Yurochka loved having you as a teacher, y’know.”

 

Victor enjoyed watching Yuuri’s eyes go big again. “You really don’t have to say that to make me feel better. I can take rejection from a sixth-grader.”

 

Victor laughed, and Yuuri blushed a little bit. “I’m not just being nice, I swear. Yuri never talks about his teachers, but he talked non-stop about you. What you were teaching, how you were teaching it. To the untrained ear it sounds like complaining, but I know him. Yuri’s a very precocious child, he doesn’t talk about things unless he’s interested in them. You made learning fun for him for the first time, I think. I remember thinking, ‘I should really meet this person and thank them.’”

 

Yuuri looked at Victor with an expression of interest, rather than discomfort like Victor was expecting. “Well, I never saw you last year.”

 

Victor sighed in embarrassment. The universe was giving him more and more reasons to regret never having gone to parent-teacher conferences before this. “I know, I’m sorry. I have a very chaotic job with irregular hours. I really do try to get to these things, but – “

 

“It’s alright, Mr. Plisetsky.”

 

“Victor, please.”

 

“Victor.” Yuuri smiled. Victor thought he saw the sun. “I know you try your best. Yuri told me that much last year. Trust me, there are parents out there that do a lot but don’t care nearly as much about their child as you clearly do.”

 

Victor didn’t know where Yuuri had been hiding all this time, but God it felt like he just understood everything in Victor’s life at a moment’s glance. It made Victor’s heart go weak in his chest.

 

“Yuri’s an incredibly intelligent and talented child,” Yuuri continued. “As much as he may have been a bit of a troublemaker, I couldn’t help but care about his future. It’s wonderful to know he has a guardian that will support him and help him reach his fullest potential.”

 

Victor would look back on this exchange later and would be pretty sure that he had a vision of marrying Yuuri for a brief second in that moment.

 

“Yeah. Yuri is pretty incredible, huh?” Sometimes Victor forgot to completely appreciate the wonderful little boy he was lucky enough to call family. He got a bit wistful and distracted, staring at the classroom door that he knew his boy was behind.

 

“Um, yeah, anyways, that’s just – that’s just, y’know, my opinion based on what I know.” Victor turned back to Yuuri, who was blushing furiously and stumbling badly over his words. “You don’t – have to – listen to me. Just ignore all that.”

 

Something in Victor cried out to help this man gain more confidence in his own opinions and intelligence, because clearly they were far beyond what Yuuri thought about himself.

 

“Don’t say that,” Victor soothed. Yuuri swallowed and calmed down. Victor just observed him for a moment before speaking again. “Are you going to have Yuri in class again?”

 

“No, that’s impossible unfortunately. I only teach fifth grade and lower.”

 

“So there’s no possibility of you being his teacher in the future?”

 

“I don’t think so. Unless I was suddenly promoted in the next year.” Yuuri laughed lightly.

 

“Then it wouldn’t be wildly inappropriate for me to ask you out?”

 

Yuuri stopped laughing and stared like a deer in the headlights. His mouth opened and closed a few times.

 

“Sorry if that was a bit forward,” Victor backtracked. He had been so confident that maybe Yuuri was at least interested.

 

“No! No! It’s not – “ Yuuri rushed. “It’s not too forward. I’m just – “ He looked down at his finger that was fidgeting with the papers in his hand. “I’ve never…been asked out before.”

 

“Well that doesn’t seem possible,” Victor stated.

 

“Far more possible than you can even imagine,” Yuuri muttered.

 

“So is that a no?” Victor asked, taking a risk and stepping just a bit into Yuuri’s personal space.

 

“No,” Yuuri responded immediately, matching Victor’s gaze.

 

“Oh yeah?” Victor was pushing his luck, but he moved even closer to Yuuri. Close enough that if anyone saw them like this it would be immediately obvious as to what was happening.

 

It felt like Yuuri’s voice suddenly dropped two octaves. His eyes were dark and sharp as they met Victor’s, almost intimidating him in a way he hadn’t been in a long time. All of the sudden, Victor saw another side of Yuuri. Regardless of whether Yuuri had even been on a date before, Victor could see a sheer magnitude of raw sexuality lurking beneath his surface. Underneath that boring white button-up and that hideous tie, Yuuri was more confident than even Victor could begin to imagine. Victor hadn’t been expecting this at all, but he _really_ liked it. Intelligent, funny, and _sexy_ too. Christ.

“You’re not just too young to be a parent, y’know,” Yuuri said lowly between them. Victor quirked an eyebrow. “You’re way too hot too.”

 

Victor let the weight of the tension between them linger for a moment, before he reached into his pocket to pull out a pen. He put the cap end between his teeth and pulled the pen out of it. He hadn’t lost eye contact with Yuuri, but at that point Yuuri’s eyes glanced down just for a moment. Then Yuuri bit his lower lip.

 

It was taking every ounce of Victor’s self-control to not knock the loose papers out of Yuuri’s hands, press him against the nearest wall, and make out with him.

 

When Victor grasped Yuuri’s free hand, the teacher’s whole body seemed to shiver. Victor held it between them, proceeding to write his phone number into Yuuri’s inner wrist. When Victor and Yuuri both looked back up at each other, it felt like they were both using what little shame they had left to keep themselves in check.

 

“Call me,” Victor all but whispered. He even added a wink for extra measure. He was pretty sure his intentions were made clear by this point, but it couldn’t hurt. Especially as he got a close-up view of Yuuri’s face flushing a healthy shade of red.

 

Yuuri’s mouth opened to say something, but suddenly the doorknob to the classroom turned and they flew apart. Yuuri adjusted his glasses and ugly tie while Victor rushed to cap the pen and put it back in his pocket, just as the couple of parents previously in a meeting with Mr. Feltsman exited and walked past them. They gave the fidgety Yuuri and Victor strange looks and all the two men could offer back were awkward smiles.

 

The parents walked away, leaving Victor and Yuuri alone once more. They didn’t dare move back towards each other, but they shared slightly embarrassed flirty smiles from either side of the doorway.

 

The next time the door opened, twelve-year-old Yuri shuffled out with his backpack slung over his shoulder. He noticed Yuuri first.

 

“Hey, Katsudon,” he said.

 

Yuuri winced. “Hello, Yuri.” He glanced back up to Victor. “That’s another thing he likes to call me other than Mr. Katuski. He got it from my last name, but it didn’t help when he found out that it was also my favorite food.”

 

“It’s also because you’re fat,” Yuri said.

 

“Yurochka. Watch it,” Victor scolded. Yuri slouched a bit, but didn’t roll his eyes: an improvement.

 

“Anyway,” Yuri changed the subject. “Mr. Feltsman said you’re too late. He doesn’t want to meet with you.”

 

Victor sighed. He _could_ make a fuss that he made all the effort to get here at all, but at the end of the day, he knew it was his fault. “Okay.”

 

“He said maybe if you actually took the initiative to schedule a meeting yourself you might make it on time.

 

“Okay.”

 

“He said he’s not mad, he’s just disapp – “

 

“Okay, Yuri! I – I get the picture, alright?”

 

“Alright.”

 

Yuuri interjected softly. “Well, have a good rest of the day Yuri! You too, Victor.”

 

Victor looked back up at Yuuri and gave him one last smile, much less dazzling but far more heartfelt than the first one he ever gave him. “Thank you. I hope to talk to you again sometime.”

 

“Yeah, me too.”

 

Yuri looked up, back and forth between the two of them as they proceeded to silently smile at each other. “Oh. My. God,” Yuri said when it dawned on him.

 

Victor looked down at him. “What?” As much as Victor tried, he couldn’t quite wipe away the residual smile in time to fool Yuri. Not that he could have anyway. Yuri just stared at him with eyes squinted in disbelief and nose scrunched in disgust, making for quite the expression.

 

“You’ve got to be freaking kidding me!” Yuri groaned and grabbed Victor’s hand, starting to try and drag him away. But Victor stayed turned to face Yuuri, waving goodbye.

 

“Goodbye Yuuri!” Victor tripped a little going backwards over one of the chairs in the hallway.

 

Yuuri giggled at him, but also missed the doorknob when he went to grab it, too busy watching Victor stumble his way down the hall in Yuri’s grasp. He then proceeded to blush and giggle at himself.

 

“C’mon I want to go home, old man!” Victor ignored Yuri and only turned around once Yuuri disappeared inside the classroom.

 

“You’re so gross,” Yuri muttered when Victor finally got his hand free and just walked beside him.

 

Victor sighed as they made their way outside. “One day, Yurochka, you’ll understand.”

 

“No thanks.”

 

Victor laughed, light and airy and feeling happier than he had in months.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say hi at victuuri-oturi on Tumblr!
> 
> *psst* Lilia Barinovskaya is the principal but I couldn't fit in a mention of it so there you go
> 
> I have some ideas for a continuation, but I won't do it if people aren't interested, so let me know!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You bastards made me do this. You got me to do a multific I haven't even remotely planned for, how dare you.
> 
> Seriously though, I really am super into this au, I have so much fun writing it. But I still was going to wait to publish more. However, I got my phone stolen today, and this made me feel better in my time of anger and sorrow.
> 
> Sorry it's so short, but there's a lot of set up for a whole bunch of shit in the next chapter. So bear with me. And you can also rest easy knowing that I have like, 80% of said next chapter written already, so you won't have to wait that long.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Yurochka, you can’t keep giving Chita your food.”

 

“What? She likes it.”

 

“It’s not good for her, you know better.”

 

“Fish is fish. Real meat is still better than that processed crap in that gigantic food bag you got.”

 

“Language,” Victor chided. “If you think that human food isn’t processed too, you’re crazy.”

 

“Whatever,” Yuri responded.

 

Victor was about to remind Yuri to have more manners, but his cell phone rang in his pocket. He put aside the knife in his hand to fish it out and bring it up to his ear.

 

“Hello, Victor Nikiforov speaking,” he answered, business mode coming out on instinct.

 

“Oh! Um, hello,” the voice on the other line said.

 

Victor was expecting it to be someone business-related, but maybe this was a sales call? But then again, telemarketers usually didn’t sound absolutely terrified on the phone. And they usually didn’t just say “hello” and then nothing else.

 

Victor waited in silence for the person to introduce themselves.

 

“Oh, right! Sorry, it’s – this is Yuuri. Yuuri Katuski, from…the school.”

 

Victor’s insides felt like they jumped two feet in the air. “Oh, Yuuri!”

 

From beside him at the counter, Yuri looked up from his fish-filled hand reaching out towards the cat to glare at Victor with furrowed eyebrows. “What?” he said.

 

Victor pulled the phone away for a moment to respond, “Oh no, not you. I was just – I’ll be right back!” Victor escaped into his bedroom so he could speak more freely. He still kept his voice lower, though.

 

“Hey, Yuuri,” Victor said. “Sorry about that, me and Yuri are in the middle of making dinner in honor of me finishing a job.”

 

“Oh God, sorry to have bothered you!” Yuuri’s sweet voice came over the phone.

 

“No, no! Don’t even worry about it.” Victor looked down at his socked feet. He dug his toe into the plush carpet, shifting his weight back and forth in their brief silence. “So how are you?”

 

“I’m great, thanks! Just enjoying my weekend by correcting papers.” Victor heard papers shuffling and a sigh. “How about you?”

 

“Oh, I’m great.”

 

“Good.”

 

There was another bout of awkward silence, and then they both started to speak at the same time.

 

“I was gonna – “

 

“Are you – “

 

“Oh, sorry. You go first.”

 

“No, no, no. Please, you called me, you should speak first. My bad.”

 

Yuuri took a deep breath on the other end of the line. “I was wondering…if you wanted to…go out…sometime…with me.”

 

Victor’s fist clenched at his own shirt, desperately trying not to punch through the air in excitement. “Yeah, yeah I’d love to,” he said softly.

 

“Great.” It sounded like every bit of air in Yuuri’s body was released with that word. “When are you free?”

 

“Anytime, really. I have a brief period of rest from work, so anything soon is fine.”

 

“Okay. How about tomorrow night?”

 

“Sounds great. I’ll take you out to dinner,” Victor said extra flirtily, unable to contain his smile.

 

“You don’t have to do that,” Yuuri laughed, “I may have a teacher’s salary, but I can pay for myself.”

 

“I know, but I’m celebrating my time off,” Victor explained as he paced around his bed, already eyeing his closet for possible outfits. “There’s a restaurant I haven’t been to in ages that I love. Come with me.”

 

“Alright,” Yuuri sighed, “at least let me drive then?”

 

Victor laughed, “Fine.” He gave Yuuri his address and they agreed on a specific time for both the dinner reservation and when Yuuri would come by to pick up Victor.

 

After Yuuri had everything written down, he started to say goodbye. “Well, I guess I’ll…see you tomorrow night then.”

 

“See you tomorrow night,” Victor replied lowly. But he couldn’t quite hang up the phone yet.

 

Yuuri gave a breathy laugh that Victor could tell was a bit embarrassed and flustered. “Okay, um, bye Victor.”

 

“Bye Yuuri,” Victor practically seductive-whispered back. He knew he probably shouldn’t do that, but he couldn’t help it when he thought of how it was most likely making Yuuri blush.

 

“Bye…” Yuuri squeaked back weakly.

 

“Dress nice,” Victor said, then hung up the phone before Yuuri had the chance to think too hard about that. He plopped onto the bed with a sigh, staring at the number still lit up on his phone screen. He smiled, tapping on the number and saving it on his phone under the name “Yuuri”.

 

When he wandered back into the kitchen, Yuri was leaning against the counter staring at Victor and holding the cat in his arms. He was now blatantly feeding her fish as she lapped away at the feast in his hands. He had even finished and fixed Victor’s sloppy chopping work and already had most of the meal cooking.

 

Victor knows he should have scolded Yuri again, but his icy gaze shamefully enough made Victor freeze in his spot in the doorway.

 

“So, are you dating Katsudon now?” Yuri asked with not a single change in his facial expression as indication to Victor on how to proceed.

 

Victor thought about his next words carefully. “He…asked me out?”

 

“Huh. Didn’t think he had it in him.” Yuri pulled a power move (admittedly one taught to him by Victor himself) and casually looked away from him. He turned his attention back to Chita who was beginning to lap and bite at Yuri’s fingers now that there was nothing left to eat. He set her down, letting her meow and rub at his feet before realizing she wouldn’t get anything. She left to go bother Makkachin who was napping in a patch of sunlight.

 

Victor sighed, going back to cooking for now and tabling that conversation for later. Victor was never good with words if he hadn’t thought them through beforehand, so he decided to take the time between now and after dinner to really think about how he was going to approach this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really sorry it was so short, but next chapter is the first date which takes up a lot of time. I didn't want like, a 4,000 word chapter either, so here you go. I'm almost done writing the next chapter anyway, so I promise you won't have to wait too long. And anyway, you get Victor and Yurio's pets in this chapter, so that's pretty sweet, amiright?
> 
> I promise you'll find out Victor's job in the next chapter, too. Sorry to build up the suspense so much.
> 
> Say hi at victuuri-oturi on Tumblr! I'll answer questions, take prompts, post fan art, and just talk with you if you want. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Victor go on their first date.

The next night, Yuuri arrived five minutes early while Victor was still primping himself in the hallway mirror. Victor had been slightly panicking all day, thinking about the fact that he may have come on far too strong for someone he had really only met once. And it’s not like he wanted this to be a one-off thing, he really liked Yuuri. He thought, maybe, this could go somewhere if he really tried and didn’t screw it up. As a result, he had chosen something very stylish but a lot more modest to wear than he might usually go for.

He ended up wearing a rouge shirt buttoned all the way up with a dark violet tie. He had a suit jack and his long black coat, but he wouldn’t wear that for too long – just for the car ride, but it was still part of the look when he was meeting Yuuri. He took ten whole minutes deciding between two pairs of shoes, before Yuri groaned and shoved the pair he knew Victor really wanted into his chest. His hair looked good, his dress pants weren’t wrinkled, and his belt was just tight enough to constantly remind Victor to back off on the sexual advances. He looked himself directly in the eye in the mirror and promised himself he would be the perfect gentleman.

“Victor, what the hell are you still doing here? Yuuri texted you like ten minutes ago!” Yuri yelled when he walked by with the dog and cat at his heels, waiting for their food.

Victor snapped out of it, grabbing his wallet and phone as quickly as possible. “Right!” He spun around once more as an afterthought. “And language!” he told Yuri. He was sure Yuri must have rolled his eyes in response, but Victor calmed himself and elegantly opened the front door.

He saw Yuuri’s small car parked out front, walked to it and opened the passenger door to slide in. “Sorry I took a while,” Victor apologized immediately.

“Don’t worry. Sorry I was so early without warning you. I got here faster than expected.”

Yuuri looked amazing. His hair was gelled back, but just slightly – not so much that it looked unnatural. He still had on his glasses, but they looked so different paired with the deep blue shirt he wore under a nice black suit. Victor could only catch a glimpse of the color under Yuuri’s scarf, but he honestly didn’t mind. The scarf looked good on Yuuri too – soft but really stylish, and it made Yuuri cock his head at a really cute angle. He looked…incredible.

Victor blushed a bit and had to look away. He subtly put a hand on his belt and tugged lightly to give himself a stern reminder. “No problem,” he said. “I’ll direct you to the restaurant, just start driving.”

Yuuri laughed. “Alright, I trust you. I’ll just go straight unless you tell me otherwise.”

The ride over was lovely, filled with small talk and directions. When they got to the restaurant, they were promptly seated as Yuuri gaped at the exterior and interior.

“I knew you were probably going to take me somewhere expensive but this is…just…” Yuuri trailed off, distracted by the elaborate tapestries and furnishings as they walked to their table.

“It’s my favorite. It’s only for special occasions anyway, so really, don’t worry about the price,” Victor soothed quietly.

Yuuri made a small noise of uncertainty and distress in response.

Victor gently grabbed his wrist, and Yuuri turned wide, adorable eyes to him. “Trust me, Yuuri. I love coming here, but it’s not really the best place for bringing Yurochka all the time. So having an adult outing is lovely.” Yuuri seemed to calm down a bit. Victor leaned in conspiratorially. “And not to brag or anything, but there’s a nice big paycheck coming my way soon after my latest job. So this is also my own little treat for myself.” He added a wink for emphasis and to make sure Yuuri didn’t take him too seriously.

It worked. Yuuri smiled in spite of his apparent anxiety. “Oh, stop it,” he joked back as they reached their table in a nice quiet corner of the restaurant. They sat down and received menus that were the size of a small novel and Yuuri gaped at it a little more.

Their waitress finished her wine recommendations and bowed her head. “Let me know if there’s anything I can assist you with this evening, Mr. Nikiforov,” she said.

“I will, thank you Bethany.” Before she left, she turned to Yuuri and gave him a small smile that made him feel like she knew something he didn’t.

“This place…is insane,” Yuuri said once she was gone.

“Oh, I tell the staff all the time to just call me Victor, but it’s a professionalism thing. They’re trained to be very respectful.”

“No, no, it’s not just that it’s…I mean, look at the menu. It’s thicker than my arm.”

Victor laughed. Yuuri was so cute. “This place specializes in cuisine from anywhere in Asia – they have a chef for almost every major country. I found it searching for the most authentic Russian food from back home. It may be expensive, but it’s accurate as all hell. And that’s also why they have an almost insane number of dishes on the menu.”

“Every country?” Yuuri asked.

Victor nodded.

“Do they have Japanese?” Yuuri asked. Victor didn’t respond, just reached over and flipped Yuuri’s menu to the five pages of just Japanese dishes. Yuuri’s eyes widened then scanned, flipping a page before stopping and gasping.

“What is it?” Victor asked.

“They have katsudon…” Yuuri murmured quietly, his face bright red.

Victor giggled a little. “You really do love that, don’t you?”

Yuuri blushed harder. “Yeah…”

Victor just smiled at him. “I’ll have to try it sometime.”

“So…” Yuuri continued, trying to change the subject. “Going back to the subject of paychecks, what do you do for a living? Because clearly you make more in a week than I could ever earn in one year of teaching.”

Victor laughed again and put aside his menu – he had already known what he wanted before he even opened it. “I’m a financial advisor.”

Yuuri seemed to pause for a second, staring at Victor. He spoke after a moment, “That seems like…an oddly straight-laced job for someone like you.”

“Yes, I suppose it is. I’ve only been doing it for a short time, though.”

“Oh yeah? What did you do before this?”

“Professional ice skating.”

Yuuri froze again, like his mind was doing calculations. “For some reason, I believe that more. But I’m still not sure if you’re joking.”

Victor took out his phone and opened YouTube. Yuuri’s eyes went wide. “Oh no, I’m dead serious,” Victor said. He pulled up one of his senior competition videos and passed it over the table.

Yuuri took it and sat mesmerized in front of Victor. “Victor, this…this is a championship. Like…a global one,” Yuuri commented, never taking his eyes off the screen.

“The Grand Prix. It’s one of the biggest competitions in the skating world.”

“And this is…?”

“The finals.”

“And you won…?”

“Gold.”

Yuuri nodded in silent contemplation, and Victor was racking his nervous brain wondering what Yuuri thought. He had expected Yuuri to maybe just watch a minute or so, but he watched the full four minutes of his free program in a state of such rapture that Victor even started to get a bit bashful about his skating – which had never in his life happened before. The video ended and Yuuri passed the phone back, leaving Victor itching for a reaction. Any at all.

“You looked great with long hair,” Yuuri said with a completely straight face.

Victor’s tension broke into laughter. “Yeah, it was pretty great when I was a teenager. Don’t think I could pull that off now.”

“Oh, I don’t know. You could give it a shot,” Yuuri teased. “Out of curiosity, even though I think I might know the answer, exactly how many medals have you won?”

“In junior competitions…three.”

“And in senior competitions?”

“Five.”

“Christ,” Yuuri breathed. “I had no idea I was on a date with a celebrity.” He glanced around the restaurant and muttered, “Actually, I had some of an idea.”

“I’m really not that big of a deal. I was an anomaly because a retired so early. Right when people were saying that I was at the top of my game.”

“What made you retire so early?”

“Yurochka happened.” Victor looked down to lock his phone and put it away. “Skating was fun, but it’s inconsistent, unstable, and doesn’t always pay the bills. Especially if you suddenly stop winning. So I went back to school to get my master’s degree in finance. Did it in one year instead of two, built up connections and a client base, and now I’m one of the most sought after financiers in the world of rich American business owners. And I could support three Yurochka’s if I needed to.” Victor avoided Yuuri’s eyes as words that should have come out braggadocious came out tight and pained.

Before Yuuri could ask one of the thousand questions floating around in his mind, the waitress showed up with wine and a notebook to take their orders. By the time she left, half of Yuuri’s wineglass was already gone due to his nerves, and he reminded himself to calm down and take it slow. He felt like he had unintentionally stepped on a land mine topic, and he really didn’t want to ruin the mood of the date.

Luckily, Victor saved him by kind of changing the subject. “Enough about me, do you have any plans for your future in teaching, Yuuri?” he said as he grabbed gracefully for his wine glass, completely recomposed.

“Yes, actually.” Yuuri jumped on the topic. “I’m aiming to be a university professor. I’m actually only working at the school to get experience for the teaching degree I’m studying for at the moment.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. Master’s degrees are tough,” Victor said, taking a sip.

“Oh, I know. I have three.”

Victor choked on his wine. He grabbed his napkin to try and cover it up. Yuuri laughed.

“Well, actually this one I’m working on now will be my third. I did a double major in chemistry and literature, as well as a minor in sociology.”

Now all Victor could think of was Yuuri in a lab coat. Nothing but a lab coat. Goddammit. He tugged on his belt roughly under the table as he continued to compose himself.

“What?” Yuuri said teasingly, noticing Victor’s sudden bashfulness, “If you can brag about your medals, I can brag about my double degrees.”

Yuuri was getting super confident out of nowhere again, and it was doing things to Victor. “Oh, I don’t blame you. Screw medals, you’re smart. I think that’s sexy.”

Yuuri raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really.” Victor leveled his gaze. It was almost frightening how suddenly heavy the mood could get when he talked to Yuuri like this. It was like he was back in that hallway when they first met, where neither of them were backing down. Victor had to snap himself out of it and remind himself not to come on so strong so early.

“Do you, uh, want some more wine?” Victor asked lamely. He again tugged on his tight belt digging into his hips. He missed how Yuuri snapped out of it too, pulling his tie almost uncomfortably tight.

“Yeah, that’d be great.” They ended up both reaching for the bottle at the same time, touching hands and making the air feel unbearably intimate again. But they moved on (albeit awkwardly) and continued conversing.

The rest of the evening went off without a hitch. When the food came, Victor asked to try some of Yuuri’s katsudon. Like a blushing bride on her wedding day, Yuuri fed Victor across the table.

Victor took one bite and was all over it. “I’m glad you like it so much,” Yuuri said, still slightly flustered. Victor even ordered another bowl for himself in addition to his zharkoye and Yuuri envied how much he could eat and not seem to gain a pound.

At the end of the night, when Yuuri walked Victor up to his front door, they finally gave into the tension a little bit and held hands for the short walk up.

“I had a great time, Yuuri,” Victor said quietly. The street was very quiet at night, and Victor didn’t want to ruin the intimacy of the moment by speaking too loud. “I’d love to see you again sometime.”

“Me too,” Yuuri semi-whispered back. He also squeezed ever-so-slightly on their clasped hands.

Victor decided to go with the mood, leaning in to give Yuuri a kiss on the cheek. He didn’t think he could quite contain himself for a real kiss at the moment.

Yuuri blushed when Victor leaned back, but he was smiling, so that was a good sign. He squeezed Victor’s hand once more before saying, “Call me,” and winking like Victor had done only a few days ago.

Victor could only watch Yuuri’s back as he walked away, looking at his butt longer than he probably should have.

He walked into and through the house as if in a daze. It had been an eternity since he’d been on a date, sure, but he didn’t remember any of them being like that. He found it cliché to say that he “just clicked” with someone, but it was true. Yuuri was easy to talk to, easily embarrassed yet having bursts of confidence and the ability to call Victor out on his shit. He absolutely would be calling Yuuri, very soon.

He walked upstairs, peeking into Yuri’s darkened room. The boy should have been asleep by now, but Victor preferred to check on him as he does every time he stays out late at a meeting or at his office. “Yurochka…?” he whispered softly.

A lamp clicked on, and the desk chair swiveled around to show Yuri sitting there like a disappointed parent or an Italian mobster. He even had the cat sitting in his lap, letting him stroke it.

“Did you seriously plan that?” Victor said, truly having no other words.

“Take a seat, old man,” Yuri ignored him.

“Yurochka, you should be asleep.”

“Not before you sit down.”

Victor could tell Yuri was serious. He usually tried not to give in so easily to Yurochka’s whims, but this was a delicate subject and Yuri didn’t usually give this much effort to things he didn’t truly care about. So Victor stiffly took a seat on the edge of Yuri’s bed and cleared his throat.

“Yurochka, I promised I would tell you everything that happens on our dates. I wasn’t just going to fall back on that, I would have told you in the morning y’know,” Victor sighed.

“I know,” Yuri said defensively. “But I figured your senile brain wouldn’t remember the details for that long.”

“Yurochka,” Victor said warningly.

Yuri just pet the cat, waiting quietly for Victor to start talking, he guessed.

Victor sighed in defeat. “We went to my favorite restaurant. We chatted over dinner about our backgrounds and daily lives. I grabbed the check. He walked me up to the door…we held hands on the way.”

“Gross,” Yuri murmured.

Victor just gave him a look.

“I kissed him on the cheek.”

“That’s it?”

“I’m trying to be a gentleman.”

“When did that start?” Yuri snickered.

Another look.

Victor sighed, and decided to be completely straight with Yuri. He leveled his gaze with him, making sure he didn’t break eye contact so Yuri could tell he was serious. “Listen, I want you to know how our relationship progresses, whichever way it might go. This is…new, and I don’t want you to be cut out of something that could affect both of us so…” Victor paused, looking for the right words. “I want to let you know that…I really like Yuuri, and I…I think this could really go somewhere. I think…I want to be with him. So…you should really give this a chance, alright? I know this can be scary and unsure for you, bringing another person into my…our lives. But Yuuri is wonderful, and I’m not leaving you behind just because he’s here now. I promise.”

Yuri just looked back at Victor through his ever-growing hair. It looked like he was searching Victor’s eyes, so Victor just kept them clear and connected with Yuri’s. After a moment, it seemed like Yuri came to a small conclusion. He uncrossed his legs, letting down Chita as he did so. She wound her way around and through his legs, though, and he watched her in silence as Victor silently watched and waited for him. Yuri was a lot like a cat Victor had learned, and you had to wait for him to come to you.

“Did you tell him about…?” Yuri finally whispered.

“No,” Victor said, knowing the question was coming. “Not yet.”

Yuri nodded, still not looking at him. Victor didn’t want to give Yuri the impression that that particular subject wouldn’t eventually come up between him and Yuuri, but he was sure Yurochka knew that already. He was too smart for his own good sometimes. It made Victor feel old and sad when he thought about how fast Yurochka was maturing.

Chita wandered over to Victor’s legs and rubbed against them.

“Are you ready to go to bed now?” Victor asked.

Yuri nodded. He got up, slowly but surely moving his way into bed. Victor stood up to give him room, and Chita took that moment to notice Yuri going to sleep and jumped on the bed to join him.

“Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story so you can fall asleep?” Victor asked.

“No,” Yuri said, turning over. “Go away.”

Victor sat down in the desk chair instead and started rifling through the worn out kid’s books on Yuri’s bottom shelf.

“I said leave. I’m not a kid.”

“You absolutely are, and don’t even begin to think otherwise, Yurochka.” Victor picked out the most used book of them all, worn edges and spine standing out from the rest. “This one’s your favorite, right?”

Yuri groaned.

Victor just started reading softly in Russian.

He eventually got to a dog-eared page and stopped. He leaned over the bed to look at Yuri and saw he was fast asleep. He closed the book and put it back in its place on the shelf. Maybe Yurochka really didn’t need the story to fall asleep, but it let him know that nothing was going to change between them.

Victor gave Chita a pet before turning out the light and retiring to his own room. He thought about Yuuri. His smile, his laugh, his hands, his eyes, his determination, his heart. He pictured what Yuuri might look like in his life as it was right now – in this house, with Makkachin and Chita and Yurochka. And even though it seemed like maybe Victor was getting far too ahead of himself, it was something he needed to visualize for his own peace of mind. Maybe it was too early to say but…Yuuri fit. Victor saw – even wanted Yuuri here with him.

Perhaps Victor was finally letting himself be selfish after all these years, and maybe this time, something great would come out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super long chapter to counter the super short chapter! There was so much stuff I had to fit in here, but I managed even though it took a damn-near eternity.
> 
> And hey, now you know what Victor does for a living! I know a bunch of you were asking. Now I'll get questions about what happened with Victor and Yurochka, but we probably won't get there for a bit.
> 
> Say hi at victuuri-oturi on Tumblr! I take writing prompts!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Yurochka need to bond.

They went on quite a few dates after that.

 

The first couple were easy to set up, consisting of them going out to dinner or a movie or both. Then Victor got slammed with two more assignments and he had to spend far more time at the office late at night or even out-of-town speaking with clients. Instead of dinner dates now, Victor and Yuuri met for lunch or coffee whenever it was convenient.

 

In some ways, Victor actually preferred these casual coffee dates. With the comfort of a public café in the bright of day dispelling the pressure of possible moves to be made, they were able to just talk. Victor learned so much more about Yuuri. He learned about the ocean town in Japan Yuuri was raised in, that he had a sister and two loving parents who ran a hot spring hotel back home, that he used to have a puppy when he was younger and he was so heartbroken when it died that he simply couldn’t bear getting another one because it felt like he would just be trying to replace his last one.

 

They kissed for the first time on their third date – the first time Victor went over to Yuuri’s apartment for a home-cooked meal. Yuuri made his mother’s recipe for katsudon, and it was absolutely delicious despite what Yuuri said about it not being as good as it should be. They sat in low candlelight at Yuuri’s small kitchen table across from each other. Maybe it was cliché and almost sickeningly romantic, but it was intimate and Victor wasn’t complaining. They talked a lot, even after the food was ready and they started eating. At one point they both just seemed to stretch their hands across the table. Their fingertips met, then intertwined. Yuuri smiled at Victor. Victor smiled back. They stayed like that for the rest of the meal.

 

They both had work the next day, so they didn’t have time to go out for a movie or watch one on Yuuri’s TV. They agreed to watch one episode of a show that Yuuri’s friend Phichit had recommended to see if they liked it. Victor put his arm around Yuuri five minutes in. When both of them tried to sneak a glance at the other and caught eyes, they kissed for the first time.

 

They kissed again at the door when Victor was leaving. This one was a little longer, it lingered and settled warm in Victor’s chest. He brushed his hand against Yuuri’s one more time as he was forced to let it go, then told Yuuri he would see him again soon.

 

Of course, that was their last real proper date before Victor was buried in work again.

 

Don’t get him wrong, Victor loved gushing over Yuuri at their coffee dates and whenever he came to pick up Yurochka from school (as much as his boy would endlessly gag in the most obnoxious way possible the entire time). But he wanted some more personal time. More importantly, he wanted more time between Yuuri and Yurochka. He could tell Yurochka was still warming up to the idea of having a new person be so present in his life, and Victor wanted to go about this in the best way possible. He had an idea of how he would do it, but no time to act on it.

 

He spent a few nights working late into the morning, taking breaks only to pick up Yurochka, eat, and make sure Yurochka was eating too and doing his homework. He got enough work done that he could take Friday off and not feel behind. On the next coffee date he had with Yuuri, as they were getting close to leaving, he brought it up.

 

“So, I have a day off on Friday,” he mentioned as casually as possible.

 

“Oh yeah?” Yuuri perked up. “You want to go out that night?”

 

“Yeah, I’d love to go out.” Yuuri beamed and Victor melted. “But I’d like to go out earlier? Like, soon after school gets out?”

 

This didn’t seem to bother Yuuri one bit, which was a good start. “Oh, alright. I assume you have something in particular in mind?”

 

Victor nodded and swallowed thickly. “Would you want to go skating with me? …and Yurochka?”

 

If Yuuri was surprised, he didn’t show it. “Of course,” he responded, “I’d love to.”

 

Victor released a bigger breath than he realized he was holding. “Great. Good. That’s…good.”

 

Yuuri smirked around his coffee cup before he took a sip. “What? Did you think I was gonna say ‘hell no, get your demon child away from me’?”

 

“It’s been said before,” Victor muttered.

 

Yuuri giggled and took hold of Victor’s hand across the table. “Victor, of course I want to get to know Yuri better. I wouldn’t be dating you in the first place if I didn’t expect that to be an eventual possibility.”

 

“Okay,” Victor said a little dazed. That was the first time either of them had really put a label on what their relationship was. It had sort of gone unspoken that they were dating officially by now, that they were boyfriends, but it gave Victor chills when Yuuri said it himself out loud. He ran a thumb across the back of Yuuri’s hand.

 

“Does 4 o’clock work?”

 

* * *

 

 

Yurochka had about the reaction you would expect when Victor told him they would all be going out together. He was smart enough to realize when he was being bribed by being brought to an ice rink after school on a Friday. But of course he didn’t care enough to refuse, not that he really could when it came down to it.

 

Victor and Yurochka got there early, both of them fidgety as Victor was waiting for Yuuri to arrive and Yuri just wanted to get out onto the ice. When Yuuri did walk through the doors, right on time at four, Victor tried not to just rush over. He grabbed Yuuri’s hand and kissed his cheek in greeting. Usually he would kiss him on the mouth, but he didn’t think he was quite ready to do that in front of Yurochka yet. Yuuri seemed to understand. He squeezed Victor’s hand and gave him a quick comforting smile.

 

“Hi Yuuri,” Victor greeted, stroking his thumb over Yuuri’s hand in response.

 

“Hey,” Yuuri said back.

 

Yurochka’s stifled gag from behind him snapped Victor out of it.

 

“Um, you’ve already met of course, but never really outside a school setting. Yurochka, this is Yuuri.”

 

Yuri just gave other Yuuri a brief head nod in greeting. Yuuri did his best to roll with it, waving politely and actually saying “Hi”. Victor cleared his throat a bit and gave Yurochka a _look_. Then the boy got some more manners.

 

“Good to see you,” Yurochka said, albeit awkwardly and forced.

 

“Good to see you too,” Yuuri replied, trying his best to be as non-threatening as possible, even though Victor doubted Yuuri could intimidate Yurochka even if he tried.

 

“Can I go skate now?” Yurochka quipped at Victor.

 

Victor sighed. “I do still have to rent Yuuri some skates, so I guess you can go on ahead without us.”

 

“Cool,” Yurochka said, already turning away in a hurry.

 

Victor stopped him almost immediately, though. “No quads until I’m back and you’re completely warmed up, Yurochka.”

 

The boy rolled his eyes in response. Victor chose to ignore it. “Yeah, yeah. I got it old man.” Then he ran off onto the rink.

 

Victor guided Yuuri away to the front desk to get his size figured out. “Sorry about Yurochka. I had us come here because skating is one of the few things that he never complains about doing, but I knew there was also the risk that he would end up ignoring both of us in favor of skating the entire time.”

  
Yuuri waved him off. “No worries, I don’t mind. I’d rather he takes his time warming up to me at his own pace. Regardless, I’m glad he has something he’s so passionate about.”

 

Victor smiled as Yuuri sat down on the nearby bench and he politely told the worker at the desk that he would help Yuuri figure out which size was best on his own. “It’s kind of selfish and stuff, but part of me absolutely loves that Yurochka shares the same love as I do for the sport. We butt heads on a few things, but skating is where we always see eye-to-eye.”

 

“There’s nothing selfish about that,” Yuuri soothed. He carefully placed his feet into a pair of skates Victor selected from a shelf and watched as he tied them up for Yuuri. “It’s not like you forced Yuri to go into it. I’ve seen my fair share of parents trying to live vicariously through their children and forcing their own desires and interests onto them to do so. You two share a passion and are able to bond over it, and that’s a lucky luxury few parents get.”

 

Victor finished tying the skate and patted the side of it. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I have been very lucky, haven’t I?” He stood up and extended a hand to help up Yuuri. “How do they feel?” Victor inquired, giving Yuuri enough space to shift his weight and walk around.

 

“Great,” Yuuri responded, rolling his ankles. “You got my size first try. You really do know your stuff, huh?” he teased.

 

Victor flirted right back, getting close enough to put his hands comfortably on Yuuri’s waist. “Well I _am_ a professional.”

 

Yuuri smirked. “I guess so. Am I gonna get to see any of that professional skating today?”

 

Victor laughed, squeezing Yuuri’s sides gently. “Maybe a little. But probably not real jumps – there’s only so much this 30-year-old body can handle.”

 

“Don’t sell yourself short.” Yuuri’s eyes turned sharp and dark and Victor got too excited for his own good. “You’ve got the body of a twenty-year-old gymnast. I bet you can do lots of incredible things.” A hand discreetly ran up and across Victor’s torso, and he shivered. He could feel the heat of Yuuri’s palms on his abs and chest through his thin shirt in far more detail than was good for his health. Yet another moment where Yuuri’s confidence makes a grand sudden entrance and leaves Victor a helpless mess. Victor couldn’t help but lean in for a kiss, like he naturally gravitated towards Yuuri.

 

“Jeez, this is a family establishment. Children are present.”

 

Victor separated himself and turned around to a familiar voice.

 

A very beautiful woman with lovely auburn hair was leaning against a nearby wall, observing the couple with amusement. It seemed like Yuuri clammed up immediately on having been “caught”, reverting back to his introverted self that was intimidated by anyone he didn’t know very well yet.

 

“Hello Mila,” Victor said. He kept a hand around Yuuri’s waist for comfort and support. He liked that Yuuri felt comfortable around him enough now that he could provide security so effectively.

 

“You’re being rude, Nikiforov,” the woman chided. “Don’t you dare not introduce me to your lovely _acquaintance_ here.” She put an unnatural amount of stress on “acquaintance” as she practically beamed at Yuuri.

 

“Yuuri, this is Mila Babicheva. She’s Yurochka’s skating coach.”

 

“Don’t start being so modest all of a sudden. You’re practically his coach as well.” She was talking to Victor but kept steady eye contact with Yuuri as they shook hands.

 

“And Mila, this is Yuuri Katsuki. My boyfriend.”

 

Victor broke out in a sweat – this was the first time he had introduced Yuuri to someone as his significant other. He knew that Mila would be absolutely unfazed, but the experience was still simply exhilarating. An eyebrow she quirked towards Victor was the only indication that the news registered.

 

“Very nice to meet you, Yuuri,” Mila smiled. Yuuri got a good vibe from her, but she was still quite intimidating with a tall stature and a firm handshake. “Other Yuri didn’t tell me you were so cute, too.”

 

Yuuri blushed and spluttered, Victor was only slightly better. Victor explained to Yuuri, “Mila is often the one who looks after Yurochka while I’m out of the house.” He gave her a sideways look of suspicion. “I bet she got plenty of gossipy information about this relationship out of him while I was out.”

 

“Oh no, it was all freely given. Believe me.”

 

“All good things I hope?” Yuuri laughed helplessly, his anxiety ratcheting up about three notches.

 

“Good by Yuri standards.”

 

What does that mean? thought Yuuri desperately.

 

“And it’s not like you would ever tell me the deets on your own, Nikiforov. The only way I hear anything about how you’re doing is through Plisetsky,” she whined as she led them back to the ice rink where Yuri was doing laps around the rink, either stopping for a spin or lifting his leg into the air every now and again.

 

“With good reason,” Victor chided her as they arrived at the barrier.

 

“My God,” Yuuri said as he watched Yurochka. “He’s beautiful.”

 

“I know, right?” Victor gushed, tone saturated with pride.

 

As Mila, Victor, and Yuuri stepped onto the ice (Yuuri with far more caution), Yuri spotted them all and started skating his way over. “I’m done warming up. Can I do quads now?” he asked.

 

“Yes, alright,” Victor said, just as Mila came in with “You get three.”

 

“What the hell?” Yuri snapped at her. “Only three?”

 

“Language, Yurochka.”

 

“Yes, only three,” Mila stated sternly. “Your body is just barely starting to develop, so if you don’t want an injury I suggest you stick to just three. You’re lucky I’m giving you any at all, kid.”

 

Yurochka turned to Victor maybe looking for some backup, but Victor didn’t screw with Mila. “Listen to what coach tells you, Yurochka.”

 

Mila turned sharp eyes on Victor as well. “Oh, don’t you suddenly act so responsible. Lord knows what you would have done if I hadn’t been here – you were about to cut him loose. You spoil him too much.”

 

“Maybe. But I used to be in his position, so I guess I can’t help but empathize.”

 

“Whatever. Just go skate with Yuuri, Victor.”

 

Yurochka snapped again. “What? I don’t need him to hold my hand, I can skate on my own!”

 

Mila laughed. “Jeez, sorry. I meant other Yuuri. Boyfriend Yuuri.”  
  
Yuuri blushed beside her.

 

“We should really do something so it’s not so confusing. You should have an extra letter too, Plisetsky. How about we call you Yurio?”

 

Yuri’s face scrunched up. “Why do _I_ have to have the nickname? I’m the one that’s been around longer.”

 

“Not true, kid. Yuuri’s been on this earth longer than you have. Therefore, he is the original.” She ruffled his hair and he batted her hands away. “Now get out there and show me what you got.” She winked at Victor and Yuuri. “Enjoy your date.”

 

* * *

 

 

While Yuuri found his “ice legs” Yurochka did a solid quad loop, a shakily-landed quad Salchow, then a slightly more polished one. Even from the other end of the rink Yuuri and Victor heard him complaining about how he could nail it if only he could practice more.

 

“You’re a natural, Yuuri,” Victor cooed at him, still holding onto at least one of his hands in case he needed the balance. He really didn’t, but Yuuri wasn’t going to say anything.

 

“I’ve always had pretty good balance, and I did ballet for a while.”

 

“Oh right, your family friend ran a studio, didn’t she?”

 

“Yeah, Minako.” Yuuri was getting the hang of how much momentum he needed to glide easily across the ice, and fell into an easy rhythm beside Victor. “I grew up going to her classes. I stopped for a while but took it up again, as it helped me through a lot of bad stuff. I still go to a few classes now and again when I feel like it.”

 

Victor wanted to ask about what Yuuri had felt so bad about in the past, but he also didn’t want to pry. Yuuri would tell him if and when he wanted to. “Well you move beautifully. It takes other people a long time to learn to control their own bodies.”

 

“Oh, I know. I never had the natural build for a dancer so it was harder for me, but I still had to try and get through it.”

 

Victor let go of his hand just long enough to wrap his arms around Yuuri in a hug from behind. They immediately slowed down to a crawl. Yuuri laughed in his arms. “We can’t really move like this, Victor,” he giggled fondly. He’d like to say his anxiety didn’t also make him look over to see if Mila or Yurio were seeing this, but he’d be lying. He still got really embarrassed with public displays of affection, especially when he wasn’t certain if new people liked him or not.

 

“I can’t kiss you right now,” Victor pouted childishly in his ear. “I need all the affection I can get.” Yuuri felt his face warm up, even in the chill of the rink. “Does it bother you?”

 

“No, no,” said Yuuri. He meant it – physical contact from Victor comforted him. “I’m just worried Yurio might not be psyched about it.”

 

“He has to learn some time.”

 

“But he already doesn’t like me.”

 

“He does like you.”

 

Yuuri’s brain didn’t really process that. “I don’t want to be a strain in your relationship.”

 

Victor placed a gentle kiss on Yuuri’s jaw. “Yurochka and mine’s relationship was forged by fire. It’s gonna take more than me getting a boyfriend to break it. And if Yurochka really is just bothered by me being all mushy and affectionate, we should just give him some more so he can get used to it.” Victor started kissing Yuuri’s nape and neck which quickly devolved into comically loud raspberries.

 

Yuuri couldn’t help laughing even louder than the chaos Victor was inflicting on him – he was ticklish. The yelling from the other end of the rink was distant underneath all the noise in Yuuri’s ear, but soon Victor backed off and it was identified to be Yurio screaming about how old and disgusting Victor was and Mila whistling and hollering. Victor skated them back over.

 

“Going on a break already?” he asked. Yurochka was keeping his distance, moping and stretching further down the barrier.

 

“Nah. I’m making him do more stretches for back-talking,” Mila responded.

 

“You’re the devil, Mila.”

 

“I know.”

 

“You remind me of my ballet teacher,” Yuuri commented, then immediately berated himself for saying something so forthright and stupid to a stranger.

 

Mila’s eyes went wide. “I’m like your ballet teacher?”

 

Yuuri floundered. “Well, I mean, she’s really nice – I promise. But she’s – she’s still really strict, y’know. In–In a good way.”

 

“My God, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me. I think I’m gonna cry.” Mila started fake tearing-up, fanning her eyes with her impeccably manicured hand. “Why can’t you be as lovely as your boyfriend is to me, Nikiforov?”

 

Victor just sighed and shrugged, giving Yuuri a fond smile and squeeze with his arms still loosely holding him.

 

“No wonder Plisetsky likes you so much,” Mila told Yuuri.

 

“You two keep saying that,” Yuuri sighed. “That he likes me.”

 

“It’s true,” Mila said. “You’d know if the kid didn’t like you. He never dislikes someone without a good reason, and he’d tell you it straight up.”

 

Yuuri still made an awkward face of reluctance and disbelief.

 

Mila laughed lightly. “Trust me, he likes you. He talked about you all last year when you were his teacher. He’s always hated literature, and all of the sudden it was all he could talk about. Did you know he read every book you recommended?”

 

Yuuri’s eyes went wide and he turned a little red. “Really?”

 

Mila nodded.

 

“That was because of _you_?” Victor turned to him in disbelief. “I knew he loved class way more when you taught it, but good Lord I had never seen him read so much in his life.”

 

“Oh gosh,” Yuuri groaned in embarrassment, burying his burning face in his arms.

 

Victor just held on to him tighter, trying to get Yuuri to look at him. “You’re amazing, Yuuri.”

 

Yuuri turned to face him just a little. “No, I’m really not.”

 

“Yes, you are,” Victor said emphatically.

 

Yuuri finally looked Victor in the eye, knowing he meant it. They probably stared at each other just a tad too long, because Mila was quietly heard saying, “Oh my God” in soft disbelief and giddy excitement.

 

Victor respectfully extricated himself from around Yuuri, thinking he was probably incredibly embarrassed because of him. Victor found he really couldn’t help himself around Yuuri, though, even if he thought that his touchy-ness might make Yuuri uncomfortable. They really weren’t used to having other people around, making them fully aware of how lovey-dovey they truly were. “I’m gonna…go practice with Yurochka.” Victor awkwardly made his exit, giving Yuuri a parting kiss on the forehead as an apology and also because again, he really couldn’t help it.

 

Mila turned to find an absolutely beet-red Yuuri beside her. “He gets embarrassed so he leaves you here with me? Not that I mind, it’s just…this is your date, and we’re still technically strangers.”

 

Yuuri shook his head. “No, he wasn’t embarrassed. He just knows I get antsy so he’s trying to give me space and be respectful. He doesn’t realize I’d really just prefer him to stay with me.” Yuuri smacked a hand over his face. He had blabbed without thinking again.

 

“Awwwww!” Mila cooed as she realized Yuuri had just let slip his real feelings. Then she paused for a second, lowering her voice and leaning in conspiratorially. “You two can’t keep your hands off each other, huh?”

 

Yuuri saw her raising her eyebrows suggestively and immediately stopped her. “No no no! We aren’t – we – we haven’t even – um, y’know…” Yuuri’s face was burning and he was getting the shakes.

 

Mila’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Seriously?”

 

Yuuri nodded quickly.

 

“Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I just kind of assumed. You two seemed really _really_ close, y’know.”

 

“Oh, it’s alright. Don’t worry about it.” Yuuri swallowed before continuing. Despite the embarrassment, he actually felt quite comfortable around Mila. Maybe that’s why he had been running his mouth so bad. “Victor’s been working a lot recently anyway. We haven’t really…had the opportunity.”

 

“Interesting,” said Mila with a smirk in her voice. Yuuri turned to her, a confused and questioning look on his face. “Y’know, Victor can be kind of dense and an idiot, especially when it comes to things that he cares about. He’s really scared of messing things up. If you want something – anything – you should tell him flat out. Trust me, that’s the only way you’re gonna get the message across. Once his ass gets kicked into gear, he’s on board.”

 

“Oh, um, okay. Thanks.”

 

Mila turned a bit more serious. “And don’t worry so much about Yurio. That kid is tougher than I think both of you give him credit for.”

 

Yuuri responded just as seriously this time. “Thank you.” He took a deep breath. “I just…want to be good for Victor.”

 

“You’re gonna be good for both of them, Yuuri.”

 

Yuuri looked back at her, and she looked oddly…soft. And happy and kind. He nodded, trying not to give into the doubts in the back of his mind that always gnawed at him.

 

He looked over to where Victor was showing Yurio how to pick up and slow down momentum in a spin. He and Mila watched on in companionable silence. Victor even eventually did a simple jump of his own – just one, but it was flawless. If Yuuri had thought Yurio was a beautiful skater, Victor was a masterpiece. Perfectly in his element.

 

Yuuri suddenly felt calmer than he had in years, relaxed and refreshed. And yet, while his mind was like a placid lake – soft and peaceful – as he watched Victor he felt his heart beat hard and steady in his chest. Yuuri felt _alive_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took forever. Midterms kicked my ass.
> 
> Angst is coming soon! It's not going to be too bad yet, but it is coming. Aaaah!!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr at victuuri-oturi!


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the date-turned-weird-family-outing went off without a hitch, at least from Yuuri's perspective. Yurio didn't brutally or even sarcastically insult him once for the rest of their time at the ice rink. Although he was pretty sure that was due to both Victor and Mila being there, but hey, he'd take what he could get.

He was even kind of getting the hang of skating by the end of it, enough that even Mila was impressed. Victor complimented him plenty as well, but Yuuri could be more certain that Mila's praise was more than just enamored flattery (not that he doubted Victor's sincerity – at this point of knowing him Yuuri's was pretty sure the man didn't have the capacity to be dishonest). Yurio's opinion on Yuuri's skating was completely unreadable.

Mila said goodbye to the three of them at the front door, telling Victor to not bother trying to pay for the rented ice skates. She threw a cryptic wink at Yuuri's as the glass doors slid closed. Victor and Yurio walked Yuuri to his car, with Victor being either brave or stupid enough to hold Yuuri's hand while they did so.

"Maybe I should have brought this up earlier but ah..." Victor interrupted Yuuri fishing for his keys. "Would you like to join us for dinner tonight? At our house? I'm - we're cooking."

Yuuri's eyes briefly flicked over to Yurio, but found nothing. The kid had been stone-faced and oddly quiet for a while now. Victor reached down to pat and ruffle Yurio's hair – a comforting gesture for Yuuri and Yurio both.

"Sure. I'd love to join you," Yuuri responded.

Victor looked overjoyed. "Great! I'm sure you know your way, but feel free to follow our car."

"Of course. I'll see you soon."

 

Being invited to Victor and Yurio's house for the first time was a big deal to Yuuri, just as it was for Victor he assumed. It was a very large step into their everyday life and environment, both figuratively and literally.

Yuuri offered multiple times to help with dinner preparations, but Victor just gently sat him down at the table.

"You've cooked me so many meals, I am taking this opportunity to return the favor," Victor told him with an absolutely delighted smile. It was true. Victor had come over for dinner at Yuuri's a couple times and every so often Yuuri even made him lunch. It started with Yuuri just bringing Victor some leftovers but he seemed so happy that Yuuri just started making new things for him to try on his lunch breaks.

Yuuri ended up being okay not helping out, oddly enough. It wasn't like he was being left out of conversation, quite the opposite in fact. Besides, he liked observing the chaotic but warm interaction between Victor and Yurio as they bustled about the kitchen.

"You remember those great leftovers, Yurochka? Yuuri made them!" Victor gushed.

Yurochka turned to Yuuri. "You didn't let him cook, did you?"

Yuuri panicked for half a second - was there a right answer here? Then he calmed his nerves and just answered honestly. "No, I didn't."

"Good," Yurio said tersely. He eyed Victor sideways. "He'd burn the place down."

Victor made a shocked face so dramatic Yuuri wasn't quite sure if he was kidding or genuinely surprised at Yurio's insult. "Be nice, Yurochka. You'll hurt an old man's feelings."

Yuuri wanted to milk this rare and sudden interaction with Yurio further. "So why is he being allowed to cook right now?" he joked.

"Because I'm watching him," Yurio said, deadpan and not looking up from his work at the stove.

Victor clutched his chest dramatically. "Ugh, it hurts..."

Yuuri and Yurio laughed together and Yuuri didn't miss the look of pure, unfiltered joy practically radiating from Victor's face when it happened.

"Victor, you're crushing the lettuce."

Victor broke out of his reverie at Yuuri's comment, realizing that he was, in fact, squeezing the head of lettuce to death in the throes of his excitement.

"Aw, seriously?" Yurio took the poor damaged lettuce and picked through the leaves. He sighed, "It'll survive, I think. We can still use it." Victor was not spared a dirty look, however. Yurio turned back to Yuuri. "See what I mean?"

"At least he wasn't handling anything flammable."

Victor was too stunned by the interaction between his boyfriend and Yurio to even try and defend himself.

Yurio sighed roughly again as he looked through a cupboard. "You didn't even get the sauce, Victor."

"Huh? What?"

"We need it before the pot starts boiling! You need to go back to the store."

"Alright, alright, I'll go and get it. You don't mind staying here, do you?" Victor asked Yuuri.

Yuuri shook his head. "No, of course not."

"Great." He kissed the top of Yuuri's head and ruffled Yurochka's hair (which he immediately fixed) and ran for the door.

"Keys!" Yurochka yelled.

"Right!" Victor yelled, running back and snatching them up before actually leaving.

The second he was gone, Yurio switched off the boiler and turned to stare down Yuuri. The mood turned on a dime and Yuuri immediately broke into a cold sweat.

"Do you need something?" he asked, not believing he was mildly intimidated by a twelve-year-old.

"Victor has something he needs to tell you," Yurio said.

"Okay."

"He'll be telling you soon."

"Alright."

"He just needed my 'approval' and today was him seeing if he got it."

"Yurio, you planned this didn't you?" Yuuri stopped him.

Yurio just stared blankly back for a painfully quiet moment. Then he turned towards the stove and flicked it back on. 

"I may have left the sauce off of the shopping list."

Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief – relief of what he wasn't sure, but he certainly felt better. "Remind me to never underestimate you, Yurio," he laughed, the weight in his chest dissipating.

"Please listen to him."

Yuuri stopped in his tracks, heaviness pressing down on him once more at Yurio's tone. "What?" he asked. 

"Just...have an open mind when you talk to him." Yuuri couldn't see the boy's face as it was turned to look at the stove and he felt like he was having a very one-way conversation with his back.

"Talk to him about what?" Yuuri asked. Silence. "Yurio...?" He almost got up to go towards the boy, but suddenly Yurio turned halfway to the cutting board, showing his face which betrayed nothing. Yuuri reminded himself of what he had learned from being Yurio's teacher last year – it's always best to wait for him come to you.

Yurio began chopping vegetables methodically, the knife landing on the wood with a steady tunk, tunk, tunk. "It's just something kind of important, I guess. About me and Victor."

"I understand," Yuuri said. He didn't really understand, but he could recieve the message being sent loud and clear. A message Yurio was trying very hard to play off as nothing but was obviously a big deal to him. "I promise to be open when I talk to him. If it makes you feel better, I truly don't think there's anything to worry about. I'm sure there's nothing that would completely throw me off. I may not be the most confident person but Victor is and I'm sure it will be fine."

"You've never seen him cry."

It was the first time Yurio's face showed his true emotions, his eyes downcast and dark, like he was somewhere else, lost in a memory. He kept chopping. Tunk tunk tunk.

Yuuri wasn't quite sure what the significance of that statement was or what exactly Yurio intended by it, but he knew it was true. "That's true," he said.

Tunk tunk tunk.

He had never seen Yurio look so vulnerable even in the year he taught him. Week after week his first year of teaching Yuuri heard his student talk about his caretaker in odd ways that honestly made Yuuri question what his home life situation was. Never “Mom this” or “Dad that,” it was always just “Him.” Children Yuuri’s encountered have all sorts of different family situations, and he kept waiting to see some common signs of distress in Yurochka that never came. Yurochka never seemed sad. He clearly loved “him,” whoever “he” was. So Yuuri believed his student was happy the way things were, regardless of his tough outer exterior. 

Tunk tunk tunk.

But whatever situation going on involving him and Victor was much bigger than Yuuri himself, he realized. It went beyond a child creating a firm barrier for protection, or guilt over parental figures, or an uncertainty of the future of their home. This thing unknown to Yuuri was important to Yurio and must be important to Victor in turn. Yuuri desperately tried not to be intimidated by the prospect of having weight of the knowledge of said “thing” on his shoulders.

Tunk tunk -

"I promise, Yuri," Yuuri said to the boy. He didn't really know what he was promising exactly, but he knew it was probably a lot more than just "having an open mind" for Yurochka.

"Thanks." Yurio was apparently done chopping and threw the vegetables in the pot. Like a bell had gone off, the cat materialized at Yurio's feet, meowing. He picked her up and fed her a small piece of carrot that was left over.

"Her name's Chita, right?" Yuuri asked, not wanting the longest interaction he's ever had with Yurio to end in silence.

"Yeah." Yurio cradled Chita like a newborn and she loved it. Her purrs were audible even from Yuuri's position a few feet away.

"She's beautiful."

Yurio suddenly stuck Chita out at Yuuri, the cat’s paws dangling in the air without her seeming to mind. Yuuri stared into the blank face of the cat. "You want me to...?" he trailed off and looked to Yurio for confirmation, who didn't nod or respond in any way. He just looked earnestly back. So Yuuri went ahead and carefully took Chita into his arms and onto his lap. "Thank you."

Chita didn't immediately snuggle up like she had with Yurio, but she sniffed and rubbed Yuuri's hand with her head and Yurio watched in quiet observation.

"Also..." Yurio suddenly began, reaching into a drawer and pulling out a book. A book that Yuuri had given him to read last year. Yurio extended it towards Yuuri. "I'm sorry I didn't give it back. I wasn't finished yet."

Yuuri knew that was a lie. It hadn't been uncommon last year for Yuuri to hand the boy a book on Friday and have it back by Monday. Besides, this book in particular was a wonderful weaving tale of fantasy worlds and chaos and stories within stories and Yuuri remembers he hadn't wanted to return it to the library either after the first time he read it. He had re-read it again so many times. He shook his head.

"Don't worry, keep it," Yuuri said. "I have multiple copies."

Yurio glanced down at the book cover of painted trees and a swan and various other creatures. "Really?" he asked hesitantly. Yurio talked so maturely that sometimes Yuuri forgot he was still a twelve-year-old boy.

"Yeah, of course." Chita purred and nuzzled affectionately into Yuuri's pets and scratches.

"Okay," said Yurio, seemingly kind of spaced-out. "Thanks." He put the book back in the drawer. The conversation lapsed into silence again, but it seemed comfortable and it put Yuuri at ease. He occupied himself with Chita and almost forgot there was another person in the room until Yurio spoke again.

"Victor likes you," he blurted out of nowhere.

Yuuri looked up in surprise. "Oh, um well..." This was kind of a delicate subject in Yuuri's mind and he was so disoriented from the sudden change in topic that he was completely at a loss for what to say. "I hope he does – "

"Do you like him?" Yurio interrupted.

"Uh..." Yurio's face was so serious and sincere that Yuuri struggled to keep from breaking into a smile. What did Yurio expect him to say exactly? He hates Victor’s guts and that’s why he took him out to dinner and kisses him on the porch every night? "Yes. Yes, I do like Victor." He was being totally honest and failed to suppress his smile when the words left his mouth.

The conversation wasn't over though, Yurio's expression didn't change.

"Do you..." the boy began. "Do you lo - "

A car door slammed outside and Yurio flipped around to the pot and began stirring like nothing had happened. Yuuri just sat there dazed and wondering where the hell that discussion would have gone if it had continued.

Victor was met at the door by Makkachin, who pawed and barked excitedly. "I haven't even been gone that long!" Victor said to the dog, giving him good pats. He continued into the kitchen. "Here's the sauce, Yurochka. I was even faster than five minutes, wasn't I Yuu- " The words seemed to die on his tongue when he turned to Yuuri still sitting lamely at the table.

Yuuri cocked his head inquisitively, then looked to Yurio for help who gave none and just continued stirring. He eventually realized that Victor was staring at the cat currently seated in his lap with something akin to shock on his face.

"Is everything okay, Victor?" Yuuri asked, giving a scratch behind Chita's ears.

Victor seemed to shake it off, his smile back – gentle and calm as he stared at Yuuri with a look if awe. "Yeah," he responded. "Everything is great."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again everyone! It's been a long time.
> 
> Apologies for the sudden semi-hiatus. A lot had happened in the past couple months since I last published and I personally have been having a rough time. However, I have made some strides in improving my well-being. I'm treating myself better by doing things that I know make me happy, and writing is one of them.
> 
> I'm not going to pressure myself to get chapters out quickly, I also don't want my writing to suffer either, but I will be writing more frequently. So I can fairly confidently say that the hiatus is over!
> 
> It's so good to be back, and I can't thank you all enough for supporting this story.
> 
> Live well <3


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